Qualified electronic signature - according to Swiss law (ZertES)
Offer the highest level of legality for electronic signatures (Qualified Electronic Signature or QES) by having your signers´ identity verified face-to-face (for QES signing according to Swiss law).
Face-to-face identification
and sign with a QES
In order to sign documents with a QES in Switzerland, the law requires a face-to-face identity verification. Together with our partner Swisscom Trust Services, we offer you the possibility to identify upfront in a face-to-face way.
STEP 1
Identify once in a location nearby in Switzerland
Before signing with a QES in Switzerland you must be identified once with an identification application. Stop by at one of the available registration authorities. They will identify the signers free of charge within a few minutes.
STEP 2
Verify ID via Passport or ID & Mobile phone
Bring your passport or ID and your mobile phone for the identification. Afterwards you’ll receive a confirmation SMS. This SMS will lead you to a website to accept the terms of use of Swisscom (Schweiz) AG and Swisscom IT Services Finance S.E.. Afterwards you will be able to choose a login and password to reuse for electronic signing.
STEP 3
Your QES will be enabled
to sign electronically
After identification and creating your login credentials you are able to electronically sign your documents in the Connective eSignatures tool.
Onboard and sign from anywhere in the world
A one-time Face-to-Face identification to reuse countless times for electronic signing.
Compliant with ZertES
The only European signature and sealing solution that covers the two legal areas EU/EEA and Switzerland with one interface.
Whitelabeled solution
Brand the full signing flow as your own and offer the best user experience.
Discover our other signing solutions
SMS OTP
SMS OTP is an electronic signing method based on a One Time Password sent to the mobile phone number of the registered signer.
Email OTP
When signing with Email OTP a One Time Password will be sent to the email address of the registered signer.
FranceConnect
Secure any transaction by identifying your signers with FranceConnect in a safe and user friendly way.
FAQ
Why is identification necessary?
Signing with a qualified electronic signature (QES) is the highest e-signature standard according to Zertes in Switzerland. For the QES, the law requires a face-to-face identity verification.
More information? Please download the legal opinion of DLA Piper. This is a complete guide about United States´ (UETA & eSIGN ACT), Suisse (Zertes), Hong Kong, Singapore and European (EIDAS) law applicable to electronic signatures. Including an assessment by DLA Piper of Connective eSignatures in relation to these laws.
Sign with a QES, how does it work?
In Switzerland you need to be identified first face-to-face before you are able to sign with a qualified electronic signature.
After the identification you will be need to define a an authentication method. This authentication method is necessary because a declaration of intent is requested for each personal signature. This declaration of intent is carried out with this authentication method.
Our electronic signature application (Connective eSignatures) will request a signature from our partner Swisscom Trust Services. The application creates a document hash and transmits it to Swisscom Trust Services.
After authentication and declaration of intent to sign, a one-time, short-term signature certificate is issued in the case of personal signatures. As a result, it is not necessary to provide a process for revocation of certificates.
Do I need to be identified every time before I want to sign?
No, the identification process is performed once and is valid for 5 years or until the identity document used for the identification expires.
How can you authenticate yourself to sign electronically with a QES?
As standard authentication methods for the qualified signature we you can authenticate yourself with Mobile ID, Mobile ID Authenticator App with Fingerprint/ Face Recognition or a combination of password/one-time password via SMS.
Is signing with QES (under ZertES) secure?
By sending compressed data of the document (known as “hash values”), our partner Swisscom Trust Services has no conclusion about the document content. After the signature process, the signed hash document is sent back to the signature application, which creates a signed document based on this signed hash.
